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Ferde Grofé ~ Atlantic Crossing
vinyl LP front cover detail
cover design: Edwin Francis
detail photo of album cover by Styrous®
Today is the birthday of Ferde Grofé who was born on March 27, in New York City in 1892 to German immigrants. His extensive musical interests came from four generations of classical musicians in his family. His father, Emil von Grofé, was a baritone who sang mainly light opera; his mother, Elsa Johanna Bierlich von Grofé, a professional cellist, was also a versatile music teacher who taught Ferde to play the violin and piano. Elsa's father, Bernardt Bierlich, was a cellist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York and Elsa's brother, Julius Bierlich, was first violinist and concertmaster of the Los Angeles Symphony.
Ferde Grofé ~ Atlantic Crossing
vinyl LP front cover
cover design: Edwin Francis
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Grofé became proficient on a wide range of instruments including piano (his
favored instrument), violin, viola (he became a violist in the LA
Symphony), baritone horn, alto horn and cornet.
This command of musical instruments and composition gave Ferde the
foundation to become, first an arranger of other composers' music, and
then a composer in his own right.
Ferde Grofé ~ Atlantic Crossing
vinyl LP front cover detail
cover design: Edwin Francis
detail photo of album cover by Styrous®
He left home at age 14 and variously worked as a milkman, truck driver,
usher, newsboy, elevator operator, helper in a book bindery, iron
factory worker, and played in a piano bar for two dollars a night and as an accompanist. He continued studying piano and violin while doing all this. He was 17 when he wrote his first commissioned work, Elks' Grand Reunion March & Two-step.
Ferde Grofé ~ Atlantic Crossing
vinyl LP front cover detail
cover design: Edwin Francis
detail photo of album cover by Styrous®
Beginning about 1920, he played piano with the Paul Whiteman
orchestra. He served as Whiteman's chief arranger from 1920 to 1932. He
made hundreds of arrangements of popular songs, Broadway show music,
and tunes of all types for Whiteman.
In 1932, The New York Times called Grofé "the Prime Minister of Jazz".
This was an oblique reference to the fact that Whiteman was widely
called "King of Jazz", especially after the appearance of the 1930 King of Jazz film which featured Whiteman and his music.
He most memorable arrangement is that of Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin,
which established Grofé's reputation among musicians. Grofé took what
Gershwin had written for two pianos and orchestrated it for Whiteman's
orchestra. He transformed Gershwin's musical canvas with the colors and
many of the creative touches for which it is so well known. He went on
to create two more arrangements of the piece in later years. Grofé's 1942 orchestration for full orchestra of Rhapsody in Blue is the one most frequently heard today. In 1928, Gershwin wrote a letter to ASCAP complaining that Grofé had listed himself as a composer of Rhapsody in Blue.
The dispute was settled, with Grofé receiving a portion of the music
royalties for the piece. Despite this misunderstanding, Grofé served as
one of the pallbearers at Gershwin's funeral in 1937.
He composed the The score for Rocketship X-M in 1950. It was the first science fiction movie to feature the electronic instrument known as the theremin.
Ferde Grofé died in Santa Monica, California, on April 3, 1972, and was buried in the Mausoleum of the Golden West at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. He was 80 years old.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Side 1:
A - Atlantic Crossing - 14:00
Side 2:
B - Atlantic Crossing (Conclusion) - 14:00
Companies, etc.
Credits:
Chorus – The George Mitchell Choir
Composed By, Conductor – Ferde Grofé
Cover – Edwin Francis
Mastered By – Pete Helffrich
Narrator – Anton Dolin, Ethel LeVane
Orchestra – The New Symphony Orchestra*
Sleeve Notes – Edward Applebaum
Notes:
Under the Everest seal, states: "A British Decca London Recording".
Cat.no. 3139 on front and back cover, S-2905 on back cover in smaller script.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Side A on label and runout): SDBR 3139 A
Matrix / Runout (Side B on label and runout): SDBR 3139 B
Viewfinder links:
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